Customer Reviews

Sony Walkman Digital Tuning Weather FM/AM Stereo Cassette Player (Silver)

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

This is the same item as the FX-290, now with a W added. Only difference is the absence of the TV audio band, which will be irrelevent next February. I ve had three of these walkmans in the past couple of years. One shattered upon impact to the ground. I didn't have the case on it, and with the other two the fast forward button, which I use quite a bit fell off.

That being said, this is probably the greatest walkman I ve owned. The radio cassette player is a dying breed and I m glad to see Sony put out a new version of an old favorite. With 35 hours on one AA battery, this is one of the great values. I still have hundreds of cassette tapes that I have taped from XM the last couple of years, and I still take my walks listening to those. Transferring to a CD is an option,but its too much of a bother. With the belt clip its so easy to just walk listening to a cassette, even though the sound quality is not as good as a CD,but it fits my purposes fine.

With AM and FM and all the presets, and a weather band this is a nice value for $30 and free shipping. I m glad I still have my other two units without the fast forward button. This is becoming a relic, and I want to make sure I have this walkman for some time to come. No MP3 for me. I m satisfied with this unit.

My first prerecorded cassette was ELO's first album--that's how long I've been listening to them! We all know the day of cassette recording or playing is long gone; even CD's are considered done in this day of MP3's. However, that doesn't negate the millions, maybe billions, of cassettes that have been sold over the past 30+ years. Cassettes have their faults, but there are so many productions out there that aren't available on any other medium.

I've owned cassette players running $300 'way back in the 80's; these are gone also. The challenge now is to find a portable Walkman-type player that doesn't sound like crap, and that's last longer than a week or so. I came across a number of books on audio cassette at home and wanted to do a re-listen. Only a couple have been converted to CD.

I initially purchased a 'Craig' model for less than $20; it's also sold as a Jensen, a Coby, and various other names on Amazon. It was a piece of crap; see my review under the Coby name. Virtually useless radio because of tuner problems, and a cassette function that ran at whatever speed it felt like. Needless to say, an adventure for the book listener and worthless for music listening.

I came across this very inexpensive Walkman and didn't expect much for the $30 price. Have I been surprised! Now, the photo shown at the top isn't my model, as it has a TV band on it that mine doesn't have. Mine has AM/FM/Weather/cassette. It appears identical to the one shown.

Unlike virtually ever other cassette player I've owned, this one only uses 1 'AA' battery--not 'AAA' as other reviewers have stated. The great thing about this is that not only are 'AA' batteries ordinarily cheaper, but they last longer, too. I expected the battery life to be shorter as the result of only one battery, but I was wrong. Sony states they are using some new technology to extend battery life, and it's true. A decent 'AA' will last around 35-40 hours, and when running on cassette, around 30 hours. This will vary, of course, according to the quality of battery purchased.

Unlike the Coby/Jensen/Craig derivative, this machine uses digital tuning with an LCD readout. The tuner has functioned with complete band accuracy; none of that playing with a stiff little wheel trying to find the best signal. As stated in the item description, there are 33 presets for the radio. I live outside Houston and can't imagine needing 33 stations to store, but I guess it's good for someone. Additionally, the procedure for storing and revising stored stations seems unnecessarily complicated. Probably not for the younger, computer generation, but it does require a lot of steps. I will certainly be retaining the instructions! Actually, it seems equally easy just to set the thing on 'manual' and use the rocker switch to find stations. Regardless, through the included headsets, the sound is equal to those players I've had in the past costing 10 times as much.

The tape loads through the back, not visible on the photo above. It is a dark smoked plastic cover that flips open with a fingernail. The cover contains two little tabs that hold the cassette, then the cover and cassette flip closed to contact the tape heads. Again, much, much less fiddly than the Coby version.

Another advantage for this Walkman over some competitors is that it contains a 'rewind' button. Many players, compact and otherwise, have deleted it over the years. If one is listening to a book or music and needs to re-listen, those units require taking the tape out, flipping it, using the 'fast-forward' button, then reversing the procedure. The convenience of a 'rewind' button can't be overestimated.

I don't think there's any Dolby noise reduction on this machine, but I never liked using it anyway. I prefer a little hiss to the muddy sound of Dolby-B.

The tape mechanism has worked perfectly for me on a bunch of different cassettes, both well-used and new. Some players get touchy with used cassettes, and are weak with the power required. I have no doubt this Sony will weaken with age, but for now works great.

Headsets are an individual choice; I prefer earbuds. However, the included headsets give a fine sound, especially for their price.

One practical benefit of this machine is that there is an LCD battery life indicator included. For those of us who do a lot of listening it saves being stranded.

No doubt the market for these players will continue to contract. I'm thinking of buying another example of this little Walkman because I do have thousands of cassettes I still enjoy. Highly recommended for those shopping.

for all of us who insist on using cassette tapes, this is the only one to have. unlike the cheaper models, this one works and it works well and it takes only one AA battery, which for lasts 30+ hours. why I didn't purchase one of these sooner I have no idea. kudos to Sony for keeping them available.
Sony Walkman Digital Tuning Weather FM/AM Stereo Cassette Player (Silver)

I bought this primarily to listen to language tapes and the unit is more than adequate for that. I was only able to get 2 and 1/2 FM stations--2 clearly, one with interference. The weather stations come in rather weakly. AM didn't come in at all. So if you're looking for a good AM/FM tuner, this isn't it. But if you just want a decent cassette player at a reasonable price this unit is for you.

Thanks for offering this item. They are really hard to find. It is compact and light-weight and requires only one battery. Very satisfied.

This player works reasonably well, but has one design flaw. The battery compartment door is flimsy and does not stay closed well, even brand new. The playback becomes intermittent when the door moves even a little. The only reason I need this machine (I have two due to battery door failure on the otherwise operable first one) is because I enjoy listening to recorded books, many of which are still only available on cassette.

Sony Walkman Digital Tuning Weather FM/AM Stereo Cassette Player (Silver)It plays tapes quite well, and the FM tuner is pretty good, but the weather band and Am tuner are almost non-existant.

I have owned a number of cassette walkmans, as I do data entry for a living & listen to books on tape/radio/tv for nearly my whole shift each day. (It would be nice if the books on tape people would catch up to the digital age, but at this point there is still no real selection of titles on either CD or mp3.)

I've been a faithful Sony customer for years, but this current design is terrible. I have only bought it more than once because I have found no other alternative with the features I need to survive the mind-numbing boredom of typing 8hrs straight. The older Sony cassette walkman w/ radio/tv band had a few nice features, like weather band and auto-reverse, which this model lacks.

However, the thing that inspires me to rant about this model is...the battery door. You don't think much about so humble a piece of equipment until you have to do battle with one as rotten as this one. If you look at the picture of the item carefully, you'll see on the lower right corner a little darker area...dark grey instead of silver. This is the door that holds the battery in. The problems are: 1-the door IS the contact point for the battery. Therefore, if that tiny piece of plastic breaks, the only way to maintain power in the unit is to tape the door shut with enough force to maintain current through the battery. (Doing this, by the way, makes loading cassettes a bit more difficult, though not impossible.) 2-The door is located in the most vulnerable part of the device, the area most likely to hit the ground if it is dropped. 3-The carrying case for the unit, which provides some protection against damage due to falls, has one area cut out, therefore providing the area of the unit below it with...no protection. Which area did Sony it its infinite wisdom decide to leave exposed? That's right...the area right over the battery door!

The first time I bought this device it fell from my lap (while I was seated low to the ground) onto a floor with that industrial type carpeting on it and...the battery door broke. Hadn't even used the sucker for a full hour yet. After that I scoured the internet for any other models at any price that had the features I needed. I found one, but that was years ago & at the time it was a discontinued model & I had to pay nearly $100 for it. I took extremely good care of that one & managed to make it last for a few years, but when it finally died I discovered that now I was stuck with this same rotten "new & improved" Sony model.

Despite adding padding to the carrying case to protect the battery door, one day the damn thing just cracked from the strain of holding the battery in (remember, batteries are always wanting to pop out because they are pushed in against a spring). I super-glued it & babied it along for another 6 months, but today the miniscule piece of plastic that actually latches the door shut just broke...and it's never been dropped or anything. It just got weak from the strain. Why in god's name doesn't the company have the battery load along the spine like EVERY OTHER WALKMAN I'VE OWNED??! Imagine the battery going into a chamber like a body in a casket, instead of a cylinder into a hole. If the battery door broke in the old version, it didn't really matter. It was like a box missing a lid, but the battery was still held in place with the tension put on the battery by the spring on one of its ends. You could add a piece of tape to help secure the battery if you had a model w/o a case, but it wasn't really necessary.

Now that I am again in the market for another cassette walkman, I will look high & low to avoid buying this one again. I don't care the price...I use a walkman for too much of my day to care about how much it costs. I want something that will last, and that is designed with a modicum of intelligence. I have been a faithful Sony customer for years, but the fact that they have been making this horrible model for years...well, as soon as I can change brand loyalties, I will. Buyer beware!

I wanted this mainly for listening to book tapes and/or radio when I'm outside. The price was reasonable and it arrived in a timely manner. My only disappointment would be in the radio reception. But since I live in the country I wasn't expecting much.

The tape works great and I enjoy buying from Amazon.

This is the second Sony Cassette player I've ordered. I love it. It only uses one AAA battery; and it has a long life. Also, the sound is great. I'm ordering this one as a backup.